The mother of political activist Sirawith Seritiwat, who was badly injured in an assault by four men wearing motorcycle helmets last Friday, on Monday insisted it was unlikely to be the work of a loan shark despite having past financial problems.
Patnaree Charnkij said Mr Sirawit, better known as Ja New, had mentioned financial issues he had in the past, but said they were long behind him now. She said it was unlikely they triggered the attack.
She added that she did not believe news reports that the assailants were sidekicks of politicians, but said her son is still recovering from his injuries and had talked to nobody except police investigators.
Ms Patnaree called on critics to give her family a break, saying she understood details of the attack were in the public interest but some of the comments had gone too far regarding the financial support that had been pledged for his medical bills.
"I'm saddened to see him like this. Please spare us some consideration when talking about donations or other matters," she said.
Red-shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn on Monday wrote on Facebook that a smear campaign was under way to distort facts and discredit Mr Sirawith, referring to reports that he was harassed and attacked by a loan-shark gang.
He said Mr Sirawith was a political activist who campaigned against the regime from the beginning and his enemies were the dictatorship and those prolonging its stay in power.
Pannika Wanich, spokeswoman for the Future Forward Party (FFP), said the party will set up a working group to monitor harassment and rights violations against activists.
She said Mr Sirawith is not the first political activist to be attacked but his case has underscored the need to look into the matter. Among the members of the working group are Rangsiman Rome, Lt Gen Pongsakorn Rodchomphu, and herself.
The FFP also appealed to people with information about the attack to pass it on to the party which plans to file an urgent motion this week in parliament to demand a response to the incident from the authorities.
Panitan Wattanayagorn, adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, said the international community is concerned about the assault and the government was providing updates on the case through Thai embassies. He also insisted that the government had nothing to gain from bullying people, as some critics have suggested.
Senate Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai on Monday called on all sides to refrain from pointing the finger during the investigation.